Week 6: Team Building

Not all groups make the adjourning process difficult to do.  However, I remember one in particular that made me very sad when it ended and that was the planning of my 10^th year class reunion.  I remember at the end of reunion everyone shared stories of planning the reunion and how everyone began to laugh at the various hurdles we endured throughout the planning process.  Although they were not funny at the time, we were able to look back over them and laugh.  The entire process took about a year to plan and during this time we had created new memories that I had not realized until the last night of the reunion.  We had begun to connect not only with each other but with each other families as well.  It was very difficult to tell my friends good-bye and watch them go back to their individual worlds after staying on the phone until wee hours in the mornings, attending long planning sessions as we drank numerous cappuccinos,  and   hours and hours of licking envelopes, making phone calls and searching the web trying to contact over 400 hundred classmates. 

I feel that high-performing groups are hardest to leave because they represented unity.  Everyone on the team was dedicated and motivated; thus, striving for a common goals.  We had an awesome leader who promoted mutual trust and respect.  She shared her vision for the reunion and was open to suggestions from all the team members.  Everyone respected what the others had to say and in the end we voted on any and all major decisions before they were implemented.  

At the end of the reunion everyone exchanged phone numbers and e-mails so that they could stay in touch.  Some of us hugged, cried, and vowed to stay in touch as well as visit if we were ever in their area. We also took photos to remind us of our time together. 

I imagine my adjournment from my colleagues will be very emotional for me, because we have encouraged each other, shared our experiences and knowledge and supported each other’s ability to learn, grow and develop both personally and professionally.  It is one thing to express our inner thoughts on the discussion board or through our blog, but it will be another to finally meet face-to-face at graduation.  I look forward to meeting each and every one of my colleagues so that I am finally able to put a face with the personality behind the words of articulation.  I think that adjourning is essential because of the need of closure.  The adjourning process gives the members a chance to conduct an after action report so that they can discuss what was effective and what was ineffective for future projects.  This also gives them the opportunity to say good-bye and wish each other well in their endeavors (Abudi, 2010).

Reference

Abudi, G. (2010). The five stages of team development: A case study. Retrieved from http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/the-five-stages-of-team-development-a-case-study.html